The present invention relates to compositions of matter which are useful in chemical, pulp and paper, mining, clay, textile and leather industries. The polymers and (co)polymers of the present invention can be used in pulp and paper industries as pitch control agents, as chemical additives and adjuvants such as felt cleaner, as tack reducing agents on paper machines, as paper sizings, as retention aids, additives for colorants, and as antistatic agents. The inventive materials are also useful as flame retardants in flame retardant formulations, as dispersing agents, as antimicrobials, as coagulants and as flocculating agents. Further still, the novel polymers and copolymers described herein are useful in compositions with sequestering agents.
The present invention further relates to linear and/or cyclic guanidine or polyguanidine or (co)polyguanidine, dicyandiamide polyguanidine ammonium chloride (PGAC) or polyguanidine urea ammonium chloride (PGUAC) which are further reacted with cationic charged or multiply cationic charged reactive agents of the non-formaldehyde type.
Such products having cationic or multiple cationic charge are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,891,422 and 4,902,779 (now Re 34,486), and in 5,135,613, these disclosures being fully incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. Re 34,486 describes cationic polyguanidine and its alloy-type formation by condensation according to the following reaction: ##STR1## Alkylamine (C.sub.1 -C.sub.12) or optionally hydroxyalkylamine, and urea are reacted to form a regular polyguanidine chain of the uncharged type as represented by the general structure: ##STR2## where n is less than 100,000. The (co)polyguanidines are defined by the formulae B(1), B(3), B(4), B(5), B(6), B(7) as disclosed in Re 34,486, and are further reacted with cationic or multiply cationic charged agents defined by formula B(2) and agents (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i) also disclosed therein. The R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 moieties are well defined in U.S. Pat. No. Re 34,486 and its contents are fully incorporated herein by reference.
The guanidines or polyguanidines of structural formula (I) according to Re 34,486 differ from those of the present invention. The reaction of dicyandiamide with alkyl amine proceeds via a condensation process to form an inert (i.e., uncharged or non-cationic) guanidine or polyguanidine with high insoluble matter and is well known. For example, these products are described in:
German Patent No. 851,001, Ger. Offen. DE 3,400,051, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,649,354; 3,873,266; 3,488,742; 4,410,652; 4,439,303; 4,439,208; and in Fr. Demande FR 2 567 897.
French patent 2,567,897 and the references cited therein describe condensation products for fixing, dyeing, and printing, and which are prepared by catalytic condensation of alkyl amine with dicyandiamide in the presence of a zinc chloride catalyst (optionally containing less than 50 mol % dicarboxylic acid or its ester and also aminoplasts, epihalohydrins and/or formaldehyde or its donors). However, the use of zinc in the condensation process poses environmental concerns such as restrictions regarding the disposal of waste zinc which is a known water pollutant.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,266 and 2,649,354 disclose that these condensation products from diethylenetriamine and dicyandiamide are not homogeneous, are very difficult to handle, and are not completely water soluble. The '266 patent describes the process of making a solution from condensation products of (A) polyamines and (B) cyanamides, or their water soluble salts. These processes, however, require long reaction time and are very unpractical on an industrial scale.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,410,652, incorporated herein by reference, describes the use of the reaction product from an amine with cyanamide, dicyandiamide, guanidine or biguanidine as a wet fastness agent for direct dyes on cellulose substrates. The '652 patent describes an in condensation in situ process which is very difficult when carried out on an industrial scale. A drawback to this kind of process is that the reaction mixture cannot properly be mixed. Hence the reagents do not properly migrate within the reaction chamber, leading to non-uniformity of reaction product. This type of process also suffers from an inability to control the rate of decomposition of --CN groups. Accordingly, the dicyandiamides, dicyanamides, diguanidines or biguanidines thus formed can undergo cracking through loss of --CN radicals.